Imeem Still Not Profitable, But Revenues More Than You'd Expect

Hilary Lewis

Feb. 26, 2009, 3:56 PM

On-demand music-streaming site Imeem may not be profitable yet, but it is generating "a tremendous amount of revenue—more than people would expect," CEO Dalton Caldwell said at today's Digital Music Forum.

Meanwhile, Caldwell remains optimistic about continuing to generate revenue despite the ailing advertising market, noting that the amount of business Imeem's generating for Amazon, iTunes, and its other commerce partners is on the upswing. But he wouldn't discuss rumors that the site's looking for a buyer.

Caldwell also said the site has billions of impressions a month, and the company wants to get the numbers of the original Napster, which he praised as one of the earliest social networks and whose founder Shawn Fanning's Snocap technology helped Imeem build "a good digital music model." The technology allows the company to determine whether a particular song has been licensed for streaming and make sure that the artist and the label get paid.